Leanne and Paul Lovgren, of Milford, tie the knot before Justice of...

Taylor Turbeville, 3, of Seymour, picks a pumpkin just her size during the Boys and Girls Club of Milford's Pumpkins on the Pier fall festival Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 at Walnut Beach in Milford, Conn.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Connor Michels, 4, of Milford, takes a rest on his quest for the perfect pumpkin during the Boys and Girls Club of Milford's Pumpkins on the Pier fall festival Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 at Walnut Beach in Milford, Conn.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

Isla McKeand, 3, of Milford, paints her pumpkin during the Boys and...

Sophia Skoczolek, 3, of West Haven, checks out a surf-ready pumpkin on display during the Boys and Girls Club of Milford's Pumpkins on the Pier fall festival Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 at Walnut Beach in Milford, Conn.

"It would have been nice to ride up in a pumpkin, but I couldn't find one big enough," said Leanne Lovgren, after tying the knot with her new husband, Paul Lovgren, on Walnut Beach Saturday afternoon in front of dozens of lookers at the Pumpkins on the Pier festival.

"Besides," she said, "where would we have parked the white horses?"

People admiring the row of brightly decorated pumpkins along the pier suddenly realized what was going on as Leanne Lovgren arrived in a wedding dress and stood beside the groom, who wore a red rose in his lapel.

David Martin, a friend of the couple, worked the crowd, assuring them that the wedding was genuine, as the couple began to exchange vows before Justice of the Peace Sonia Lofton.

"It's a real wedding; it's for real, honest," promised Martin, a professional illusionist.

"I've presided over a lot of beach weddings, but this is the first time I've ever done one at a pumpkin festival," Lofton said.

Following a storybook romance, the couple, who met at Bridgeport Hospital, where they both work as techs, decided to get married.

"We've always liked the beach, and since we live right across the street, we thought this would be a perfect place to get married," Leanne Lovgren said.

Pumpkins on the Pier was an added attraction.

Hundreds of people filled the waterside park for the one-day festival, which was sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club of Milford. There were a variety of foods on a stick, in a cup or a bag, along with music, a tractor-pulled hayride, face painting and a costume contest for the kids.

And, of course, the festival featured pumpkins upon pumpkins.

"All the pumpkins around makes it very special, very holiday like," Leanne Lovgren, quickly adding, "But this is no trick or treat."

And the couple said they didn't mind the crowd, many who were snapping photos with their camera phones.

"It just made it more special," said Paul Lovgren, "Something we will always remember."

Following the nuptials, the couple were planning on honeymooning at, where else, Disney World.